Chris Bosh says Miami could have competed for a title, wanted to win without LeBron

Chris Bosh believes that Miami Heat still had championship potential after LeBron James left in 2014 and said he was motivated to win the title without his former teammate.

Speaking on the latest episode of the All the Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the Hall of Famer reflected on the immediate aftermath of James’ return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the direction of the Heat franchise.

“We had a man of the team, I felt like not saying we were going to win it all, but we could compete for a championship….I wanted to cement myself in the record books, I wanted to establish myself without LeBron to be honest with you. We wanted to win without him to be honest. It’s something to say that Shaq won without Kobe, Kobe won without Shaq and I wanted to put myself in that category. Bosh continued. “I wanted to. to help D Wade get back to that status as well. I felt really good about our team. We were in 2nd or 3rd place. S*b* if we get to the Eastern Conference Finals, let’s play a little. I’m not worried about that at all.”

Earlier in the podcast, Bosh revisited the moment James informed him via last-minute text that he was leaving Miami. He earlier admitted he was “offended” by how the decision unfoldedsaying it took him months to fully process the departure and adjust to life without the four-time MVP.

Despite the disappointment, Bosh said he believes the Heat remain in position to compete in the Eastern Conference. Miami finished 37-45 in 2014-15 after injuries limited both Bosh and Dwiane Wade. The following year, however, the team rebounded with a 48-34 record during the 2015-16 campaign.

Chris Bosh believes the Heat could have competed for a championship before he was sidelined with blood clots and says he wanted to prove he could win a ring without LeBron 👀

“We had a team that I felt was not going to win it all, but we could compete for… pic.twitter.com/mMbtilmPPb

— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) February 13, 2026

Heat’s 48-win comeback boosts Chris Bosh’s faith in post-LeBron James title hopes

The Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals that season and pushed the Toronto Raptors to seven games before falling short of a conference finals matchup against James and the Cavaliers. Bosh was sidelined during the postseason due to recurring problems with blood clots, a condition that eventually ended his playing career.

At the time of his absence, Miami was among the top teams in the East, reinforcing Bosh’s belief that the group could compete at a high level without James.

“We were very confident but it just wasn’t meant to be, but in the end I realized what more do you want? Don’t be greedy, you’ve done it all bro,” Bosh said. “I was talking to me and my man, Maverick Carter, I was just talking and I said, it didn’t happen the way it was supposed to happen. He said, ‘it never happens the way it’s supposed to happen.’ And when he said that, I was damned, you’re right. And it kind of put me in a state where I have to come up with something else, because God forbid, if something happened while I was in the field, which was a lot of times, I feel like I got away with enough because people die for a lot less. I was like, ‘I should be here’ because usually people who have what I have, aren’t here anymore. I kind of took it to heart and moved on, got it out of my system and moved on.”

Bosch’s career was cut short, his belief in the championship never wavered

Bosh averaged 21.1 points and seven rebounds during the 2014-15 season and 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 2015-16 before his career was cut short. He was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

While Miami never returned to the Finals during Bosh’s tenure after James’ departure, the franchise later did reached the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023 under a new core led by Jimmy Butler and Bama Adebayo.

Looking back, Bosh argued that the Heat had the talent and confidence to compete for another championship — even without James — if circumstances had played out differently.